WEBVTT >> I'M BRET BUGANSKI.THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT SAYSTHEY ARE SO SHORT, THEYSOMETIMES FALL BEHIND MINIMUMSTANDARDS.JONATHAN: THIS IS A COPY OF THATGRIEVANCE.IN IT, THE FO P SAYS THEDEPARTMENT FELL BELOW MINIMUMSTAFFING IN THE PATROLDIVISIONS.THE FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE,ASKING FOR THE OKLAHOMA CITYPOLICE DEPARTMENT TO ADDRESSMANPOWER CONCERNS.FLP PRESIDENT JOHN GEORGE SENTTHIS FORMAL GRIEVANCE TO CHIEFBILL CITTY LAS WEEK AFTER HESAYS THE DEPARTMENT FELL BELOWMINIMU STAFFING 30 TIMES LASTMONTH.>> WE'VE GOT TO HAVE ENOUGHOFFICERS OUT THERE TO RESPOND TOCITIZENS.JONATHAN HE SAYS THE DEPARTMENTNEEDS TO HIRE 200 MORE POLICEOFFICERS AND REALLOCAT OFFICERSTO DIFFERENT SHIFTS.CHIEF CIT SAYS THEY NEED MOREOFFICERS, BUT MINIMUM STAFFINGIS NOT A CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT.>> YOU CAN'T ALWAYS MEET MINIMUMSTAFFING.YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVETHOSE NUMBERS AS CLOSE ASPOSSIBLE.JONATHAN: HE SAYS SINCE 2012,THE CITY COUNCIL HAS APPROVEDADDING MORE THAN 100 OFFICERS,BUT BUDGET RESTRICTIONS FORCETHEM TO FREEZE 48.>> IT'S AN ISSUE FOR ME.IT'S AN ISSUE FOR THE FOP.JONATHAN: T FOP SAYS THEY HOPE

The Fraternal Order of Police is asking for the Oklahoma City Police Department to address manpower concerns.

“We started checking into it, and we found out they’re falling below the minimum quite often,” FOP president John George said.

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George sent a formal grievance to OCPD Chief Bill Citty last week after George said the department fell below minimum staffing 30 times last month.

“We gotta have enough officers out there to serve the citizens,” George said. “We gotta be able to answer the 911 calls in a reasonable amount of time.”

He said the department needs to hire 200 more police officers and to reallocate officers to different shifts.

Citty said he agrees that the department needs more officers, but minimum staffing is not a contractual agreement. He also said the department has met minimum staffing 92 percent of the time in a given month.

“You can’t always meet minimum staffing,” he said. “You want to make sure you hit those numbers as close as possible.”

Since 2012, the Oklahoma City City Council has approved adding more than 100 officers, but recent budget restrictions has forced the Police Department to freeze 48 of those hires, Citty said.

“The manpower issue is an issue,” he said. “It’s an issue for me. It’s an issue for the FOP. It’s an issue for the mayor. We all know we need more.”